Gate-latch.



No. 633,008. Paiented Sept. l2, I899. w. A. JEFFERS.

GATE LATCH.

(Application filed. Kay 23, 1899.)

(No Model.)

w: "cams PETERS co. Pn

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

YVILLIAM A. JEFFERS, OF MULBERRY, ARKANSAS.

GATE-LATCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 633,008, dated September 12, 1899.

Application filed May 23, 1899. Serial No. 717,876. (No model.)

To a whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM A. J EFFERS, of Mulberry, in the county of Crawford and State of Arkansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Gate-Latches, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a gate-latch which may be conveniently adjusted to suit the variations in the position of the gate, thus permitting the latch to be arranged to compensate for the sagging of the gate.

This specification is the disclosure of one form of my invention, while the claims define the actual scope thereof.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the invention applied, the full lines showing the position of the parts when the gate is open and the dotted lines showing the relation of the parts when the gate is closed. Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation of the latch, and Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 of Fig. 2.

As shown in Fig. 1, the latch is attached to the gate 4, and the bolt is attached to the post 5. If desired, this arrangement may be reversed.

The bolt consists in a pin or bolt proper, 6, rigidly mounted on 'a plate 7, fastened in any suitable manner to the post.

The latch is mounted in a casing 8, which is fastened to the gate, as shown, and which has a slot 9 formed in the front wall thereof. The casing 8 receives the slide 10, which is movable longitudinally in the casing and which is held adj ustably in position by means of a pin 11, that may be fitted in either one of the several transverse passages 12 formed in the slide 10. By adjusting the pin 11 in the passages 12 the slide 10 may be held in any desired position within the casing 8, it being understood that the pin 11 is passed through an opening in the rear side of the casing, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. The slide 10 has shoulders 14 formed thereon, which limit the movement of the slide,and between these shoulders two keeperfingers 15 and 16 project from the slide. The finger 15 is provided with an outwardly-beveled outer end 17, and the finger 16 is split to form a fork which receives the pivotallymounted latch proper or dog 18. The upper end of this dog terminates in a widened finger-piece 19 and the lower end has a crossbar 20. \Vhen the latch is in closed position, it bears, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, with the cross-bar 20, against the finger 15, and when the latch is swung to release or engage the bolt 6 the latch proper is thrown as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, in which posi tion the cross-bar 2O lies in a recess 21, formed in the innerface of the finger 1G.

By means of this construction the gate may be securely held in closed position, and to release the gate it is only necessary to throw down the dog or latch proper, 18, by pressing the finger-piece 10, which places the dog in the position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3 and permits the gate to be moved away from the bolt 6. The gate is locked automatically by a movement of the gate to carry the latch against the bolt 6.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a latch, the combination of a casing having a slot in the wall thereof, a slide mounted to move in the casing and having shoulders working in the slot to limit the movement of the slide, keeper-fingers projecting outward from the slide, a latch proper mounted on one of the fingers and adapted to swing against the other, and a pin movably mounted in the casing and adapted to engage any one of a series of openings in the slide, whereby to adj ustabl y holchthe slide.

2. In a latch, the combination of a casing having a slot in the front wall thereof, a slide mounted to move in the casing, keeper devices attached to the slide and projecting outward through the slot in the casing, and means for locking the slide in various positions in the casing.

3. In a latch, the combination with means forming a support, of keeperfing'ers projecttion, and the cross-bar entering the recess in ing from said means, one of the fingers beingthe finger to permit the bolt to move inward bifurcated and having a transverse recess in of the latch proper.

its inner side-and a latch proper pivoted be- WILLIAM A. JEFFERS. tween the arms of the bifurcated finger and having a cross-bar at its lower end, the latch being capable of swinging up to open posi- \Vitnesses:

W. B. DUGAN, LULU HARKERT.

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